Recent Reviews

November 2024

October 2024

September 2024

August 2024

[ More Music Reviews ]


Jizzy Pearl: All You Need Is Soul
Jizzy Pearl - All You Need Is Soul Music Review

Jizzy Pearl: All You Need Is Soul

Heavy Rock/Metal
3.5/5.0

Facebook
Frontiers Music
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 25.04.2018

Though he's had thirty plus years of musical exploits, you may not recall vocalist Jizzy Pearl. He rose to some fame with his band Love/Hate in the Nineties, notably with Blackout In The Red Room and tours with Dio and AC/DC. Later, after Love/Hate succumbed, Pearl went on to do vocal work for other rock acts including Adler's Appetite, Ratt, Quiet Riot, among others. He also found time to record some solo albums, which brings us to his latest and fourth solo album All You Need Is Soul.

Jizzy Pearl Band Photo

Jizzy Pearl, at right

The Jizzy Pearl sound could probably be best described as melodic d-tuned heavy rock, veering to heavy metal, with slices of punk and blues. Characteristically, most songs have strong riffs, a heavy and tough rock groove in the rhythm section, and rousing guitar solos from former Love/Hate guitarist Darren Householder. Over this Pearl's voice is equally tough and assertive, which can range from a punkish sneer to metal gruff. Suffice to say, the Jizzy Pearl approach to rock is more heavy-handed than smooth and subtle. Nevertheless, almost surprisingly, all the songs are still wrapped in melody, harmony, and groove.

But, honestly, that wasn't enough for me. While I had enough interest to continue through the entire album, I'm not sure I'll revisit it after this review. Nevertheless, some songs did catch my interest. I liked the opener You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone for its quick punk rock pace tuned to a rock groove. Later, House Of Sin, a slow grooving number seemed to have a latent blues vibe underneath. But that same blues groove may be more present in When The Devil Comes, the longest song here. It arrives in the opening guitar licks of It Doesn't Matter, a song that has a few moments of Pearl's voice over acoustic guitar. Finally, I found You Don't Know What It's Like to be less heavy and thumping, but more like catchy melodic hard rock. So there are some song highlights.

Like any interest in music and the arts, our choices come down to personal taste. Listen to what you can from the album at the Frontiers YouTube portal, and decide for yourself if Jizzy Pearl's All You Need Is Soul is your belt of bourbon.



CraigHartranft.net - New fiction, crime fiction by Craig Hartranft

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

The Bottom Line

The Jizzy Pearl sound could probably be best described as melodic d-tuned heavy rock, veering to heavy metal, with slices of punk and blues. While I had enough interest to continue through the entire album, I'm not sure I'll revisit it after this review.

Find A Review

Alphabetical Index

a b c d e f g h i j
k l m n o p q r s t
u v w x y z #
New & Notable
Read the Lionville: Supernatural Album Review

eviewing my archives, I was pleased to find that I have had the privilege to review every Lionville since their self-titled debut in 2011. Formed by Stefano Lionetti, a songwriter, singer and guitarist based in ... [ Read More ]